Question

​Trace how the Watergate crisis brought an end to the Nixon presidency.

Answer 1

The Watergate break-in started when a group of men, known as the "plumbers," broke into the Democratic headquarters. They were arrested for this break-in.

Shortly after this two reporters from the Washington Post (Woodward and Bernstein) found that the current US president, Richard Nixon, might have been involved in ordering this break-in. Their confidential source provided details on how Nixon was involved.

Nixon denied these claims. However, a full scale investigation was launched. During this investigation, the court ordered Nixon to hand over recorded conversations from his office in the White House. He refused, was brought to court, and the Supreme Court ruled that he must turn over the recorded conversations.

These tapes showed Nixon's guilty, causing him to resign shortly after the court case.